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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Here it is. My first actual science fiction novel, a fantasy genre based within space and not on a battlefield of a medieval kingdom. Well, besides Star Wars. I love me some Star Wars.
I think I mostly enjoyed this book because of it's set up. Imagine being trapped on a life raft in middle of the ocean, with a ton of strangers, after seeing your cruise ship sink. Imagine you WORKED on that cruise ship, a smaller position, and the remaining survivors are either belittling you because of your lack of leadership, or they're looking at you as a lifeline.
Now, imagine you're a ten year old kid who loves cruise ships. Not going on them, but loves ships in general; the type, the history, how they operate, and how they're built. Now, imagine you have a vast knowledge that could help you survive, but nobody will listen to you because you're just a kid. Life sucks as a child, even if you are the genius in the room.
Imagine all of that...but in space, stranded on a ship with limited oxygen, no communications for help, with a ton of strangers you know absolutely nothing about. Next, for the worst part, the ones responsible behind the thousands of lives that were snuffed out before your eyes are hunting you.
The funnest part about this book, for me, was the fact that things continue to get worse and worse by the minute, and all of these people-who are vastly different from each other-either have the option to work together, or die together. There are power struggles between leaders, dark secrets that characters are willing to do anything to protect, and a reason behind everything we encounter.
The best part about this novel is that you don't need to be a, excuse my choice of wording, Sci-Fi geek to understand it all. It's written in simpler terms and language for our better understanding, but descriptive enough for us to stay interested and get a "feel" of the Sci-Fi univers.
Things go terribly wrong for our survivors in this story, and it only seems to get worse as they struggle to survive. As you read this book, and you learn more about the characters and history of the universe, you will never know who to fully trust until you reach the end of this suspenseful ride.
I think I mostly enjoyed this book because of it's set up. Imagine being trapped on a life raft in middle of the ocean, with a ton of strangers, after seeing your cruise ship sink. Imagine you WORKED on that cruise ship, a smaller position, and the remaining survivors are either belittling you because of your lack of leadership, or they're looking at you as a lifeline.
Now, imagine you're a ten year old kid who loves cruise ships. Not going on them, but loves ships in general; the type, the history, how they operate, and how they're built. Now, imagine you have a vast knowledge that could help you survive, but nobody will listen to you because you're just a kid. Life sucks as a child, even if you are the genius in the room.
Imagine all of that...but in space, stranded on a ship with limited oxygen, no communications for help, with a ton of strangers you know absolutely nothing about. Next, for the worst part, the ones responsible behind the thousands of lives that were snuffed out before your eyes are hunting you.
The funnest part about this book, for me, was the fact that things continue to get worse and worse by the minute, and all of these people-who are vastly different from each other-either have the option to work together, or die together. There are power struggles between leaders, dark secrets that characters are willing to do anything to protect, and a reason behind everything we encounter.
The best part about this novel is that you don't need to be a, excuse my choice of wording, Sci-Fi geek to understand it all. It's written in simpler terms and language for our better understanding, but descriptive enough for us to stay interested and get a "feel" of the Sci-Fi univers.
Things go terribly wrong for our survivors in this story, and it only seems to get worse as they struggle to survive. As you read this book, and you learn more about the characters and history of the universe, you will never know who to fully trust until you reach the end of this suspenseful ride.
So I read this on audiobook and got very confused at who was who and who belonged with who. Once I (eventually) got the characters straight it was an ok read. I definitely liked the second half more than the first. The climactic action sequence was well done and a reunion at the end of the book was quite sweet. Apart from the character confusion I thought one of the characters needed to be aged up a bit for all of the things he does. My favourite characters were the pilot and guide.
2 Stars - an ok read, won’t reread.
2 Stars - an ok read, won’t reread.
Originally posted to I Should Read That
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.
I won’t lie, I was initially interested in Adrift because of the exceptional cover. I'm really happy to have stumbled upon this book (and its beautiful cover) because it was exactly what I needed. I’ve been craving good thrillers recently, and this sci-fi thriller was the perfect summer page turner.
Adrift far surpassed my expectations. It’s a gripping, claustrophobic thriller with relentless action that will keep you guessing until the very end. It's a classic survival story -- our characters are stranded in a dangerous place and tensions within the group are rising. But Adrift is so much more than just a standard thriller because of the way it twists familiar tropes and archetypes. You have many of your standard survivor thriller tropes -- the group of strangers, the shortage of food and water, high tensions between survivors, and disaster lurking behind every corner. However, Adrift still manages to feel exciting and new despite these tropes. As the cast struggles to survive, it becomes more apparent that these characters are more than just those archetypes.
Although the book is strongly plot-based, the characters are what really drove the story for me. I loved that the reader's perception of each character changes over the course of the novel as motivations and back stories are introduced. Boffard develops his characters in such a way that they have strong arcs and really keep the reader interested. I have a couple favourite characters that I won't divulge due to spoilers, but this book is a great example of flipping tropes and defying expectations. You may think you have these people figured out, but they’ll still take you by surprise.
Like most thrillers, I feel like I can’t say too much without spoiling the book so I’ll end this review here. I really enjoyed Adrift and think it’s a great choice for veteran readers of science fiction and those who are new to the genre. The science and technology is easy enough to understand, the characters are interesting, infuriating, and so memorable, and the fast-paced plot makes it the perfect summer page-turner.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.
I won’t lie, I was initially interested in Adrift because of the exceptional cover. I'm really happy to have stumbled upon this book (and its beautiful cover) because it was exactly what I needed. I’ve been craving good thrillers recently, and this sci-fi thriller was the perfect summer page turner.
Adrift far surpassed my expectations. It’s a gripping, claustrophobic thriller with relentless action that will keep you guessing until the very end. It's a classic survival story -- our characters are stranded in a dangerous place and tensions within the group are rising. But Adrift is so much more than just a standard thriller because of the way it twists familiar tropes and archetypes. You have many of your standard survivor thriller tropes -- the group of strangers, the shortage of food and water, high tensions between survivors, and disaster lurking behind every corner. However, Adrift still manages to feel exciting and new despite these tropes. As the cast struggles to survive, it becomes more apparent that these characters are more than just those archetypes.
Although the book is strongly plot-based, the characters are what really drove the story for me. I loved that the reader's perception of each character changes over the course of the novel as motivations and back stories are introduced. Boffard develops his characters in such a way that they have strong arcs and really keep the reader interested. I have a couple favourite characters that I won't divulge due to spoilers, but this book is a great example of flipping tropes and defying expectations. You may think you have these people figured out, but they’ll still take you by surprise.
Like most thrillers, I feel like I can’t say too much without spoiling the book so I’ll end this review here. I really enjoyed Adrift and think it’s a great choice for veteran readers of science fiction and those who are new to the genre. The science and technology is easy enough to understand, the characters are interesting, infuriating, and so memorable, and the fast-paced plot makes it the perfect summer page-turner.
You know a book's good when you're reluctant to put it down at the end of your commute and are desperate to steal any moment possible to read more of it. "Adrift" is fantastic: limited viewpoints, so we get heavily invested in a few key people, see the situation from multiple perspectives and also don't learn everything that's going on with certain characters until it's too late. The spaceship obsessed Corey might just have been my favourite, but I had a soft spot for the hard as nails pilot Volkova and the Guide, Hannah. Who am I kidding...all of the characters were amazing and I ended up liking almost all of them by the end. Beginning with an explosive opening (literally as well as figuratively), every chapter presents another issue for the group of tourists and it was great seeing how the specialities of such a disparate group of people all came together to help resolve the problems which keep arising. And that plot twist? No spoilers, but I didn't see it coming and it was the best game-changer ever. I am definitely going to be reading more of Rob Boffard's books, if they're anything like this one.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
A classic ‘lost at sea’ story, just set in space instead of on the ocean, Rob Boffard’s Adrift is a far-future tale of a group of people trapped in a tiny ship with little food, no comms, and nowhere to go. It’s Hannah Elliott’s first day on Sigma Station and she’s not doing great with her now job as a tour guide. After the station is attacked by a strange and powerful warship, leaving her ship – the Red Panda – stranded and alone having somehow escaped the destruction, Hannah finds herself trapped alongside a handful of strangers with little hope of survival.
Structured with short, snappy chapters it’s pacy and full of twists that keep the tension tight and survival on a knife-edge. There’s not really anything groundbreaking here, just a gripping and exciting story that’s carefully planned and plotted, and told with a strong voice. It’s the sort of book that’s genuinely hard to put down and leaves you wanting more of both the characters and the setting by the time the dust has settled.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/08/10/adrift-rob-boffard/
Structured with short, snappy chapters it’s pacy and full of twists that keep the tension tight and survival on a knife-edge. There’s not really anything groundbreaking here, just a gripping and exciting story that’s carefully planned and plotted, and told with a strong voice. It’s the sort of book that’s genuinely hard to put down and leaves you wanting more of both the characters and the setting by the time the dust has settled.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/08/10/adrift-rob-boffard/
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is great! I couldn’t put it down. It had lots of shocking twists that kept the book very interesting. The characters and the plot are different in a refreshing way. I would definitely recommend it for people who enjoy sci-fi books.
Was a great book, absolutely loved what I read, but I could not finish it because I got so attached to Lorinda that I went and checked what her fate is. I could not handle it and thus stopped reading. Shame, cuz the book was stellar so far, but yeah. Was a big no-go for me.
Hot on the heels of his epic Outer Earth trilogy, Rob Boffard has delivered his new book, Adrift. A standalone this time, Adrift follows the (mis)fortunes of a group of tourists aboard the Red Panda, a small tour ship from Sigma Station, out by the Horsehead Nebula. Things, as you might expect, go awry fairly quickly as a mysterious ship appears and attacks the station, leaving the Red Panda adrift and alone in outer space.
Regular readers will be well aware by now that I rate Rob Boffard’s Outer Earth trilogy very highly indeed. They’re full-on, balls-to-the-wall action with every dial firmly cranked up to 11, with a cast of characters you come to care for over the course of the three books.
Adrift does have some (ok, lots of) absolutely stunning action set-pieces (and if there’s one thing Rob does well, it’s super-tense will-they-won’t-they action). It also has some great characters – I loved Volkova the hard drinking pilot who’ll do anything to protect her beloved ship, Lorinda who has more to her than meets the eye, and Corey the smart kid who manages to stay this side of annoying! The claustrophobic setting of the tiny, slightly rubbish tour ship which forces the characters to rub up against each other and let the sparks fly is nicely done too.
There are the occasional lulls in the action where the pace drops a bit, but you do need time to catch your breath before the tension is ratcheted up again. The plot is clever – first one thing, then another, with rugs being pulled out left right and centre before the dramatic and entirely satisfying finale.
Highly recommended.
Regular readers will be well aware by now that I rate Rob Boffard’s Outer Earth trilogy very highly indeed. They’re full-on, balls-to-the-wall action with every dial firmly cranked up to 11, with a cast of characters you come to care for over the course of the three books.
Adrift does have some (ok, lots of) absolutely stunning action set-pieces (and if there’s one thing Rob does well, it’s super-tense will-they-won’t-they action). It also has some great characters – I loved Volkova the hard drinking pilot who’ll do anything to protect her beloved ship, Lorinda who has more to her than meets the eye, and Corey the smart kid who manages to stay this side of annoying! The claustrophobic setting of the tiny, slightly rubbish tour ship which forces the characters to rub up against each other and let the sparks fly is nicely done too.
There are the occasional lulls in the action where the pace drops a bit, but you do need time to catch your breath before the tension is ratcheted up again. The plot is clever – first one thing, then another, with rugs being pulled out left right and centre before the dramatic and entirely satisfying finale.
Highly recommended.